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Guo Yuan Fashi Promote Chan Buddhism to Indonesia (Part III)

A Ch’an retreat for beginners in Jakarta, Indonesia, was held on 30 Oct – 1 Nov 2009. Guo Yuan Fashi led this retreat together with Chang Tuo Fashi and Mr. Agus Santoso as the time keepers and Mr. Jimmy Lominto as the translator.

The retreat was held in Amitayus Retreat Center located about 30 kilometers from Jakarta, in a hilly area, with cool temperature. Amitayus is a quiet and peaceful place, with a 4-storey wooden building as the main building and four smaller wooden building as the sleeping quarters. The Ch’an hall is in the third floor of the main building.

There are 75 participants joining this retreat. Many of them are new to Ch’an Buddhism. There are 17 brothers and sisters from Dharmajala, a community of practitioners in Jakarta, who volunteered in the registration, transportation, meals and logistics of the retreat.

On the D-day, some of the volunteers were ‘pushed’ to join the sitting to allow them to practice. The rests were standing by to assist the participants and time keepers.
This retreat got so many positive feedbacks from the participants and the volunteers.

Most of us are impressed by the modest appearance of Guo Yuan Fashi and the methods taught in the retreat which was simple yet very practical. Some of the most favorite methods were the bare-foot walking meditation and the walking meditation holding a bowl almost full of water.

In short, all participants were very relax and joyful throughout the retreat.
We were very fortunate to be able to practice Ch’an under the guidance of Guo Yuan Fashi.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Guo Yuan Fashi for all the teachings and the guidance. Special thanks to Chang Tuo Fashi and Mr. Agus Santoso for initiating, arranging, and managing the retreat so well. We also thank Mr. Jimmy Lominto as the translator, Ekayana Buddhist Center as the owner of Amitayus Retreat Center, all sponsors, all volunteers, all participants, and everyone that makes the retreat happened.